


Sons of the Temple

by Morgyn Leri (morgynleri)



Series: Sons of the Temple [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Child Abandonment, Families of Choice, GFY, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 17:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4068589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgynleri/pseuds/Morgyn%20Leri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vinris Rish never expected her rescue mission to Dathomir to include an infant boy, much less to lead to her becoming the accidental recruiter for the boy's two younger brothers. Savage, Feral, and Maul are raised in the Temple creche, and the direction of fate changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Three Brothers

The first time Vinris is on Dathomir, she wants very much to be elsewhere, but the younger Knight she's rescuing is an idiot who chases ghosts all over the Outer Rim, and no matter how much she wants to leave him in the hands of the Night Sisters, it would be difficult to explain to the Council when he's her mission. She comes out of the situation with a desire to thump Mother Talzin with a stout stick, a Jedi Knight who is drugged to his gills, and an infant boy who was left hidden near her shuttle with only a small scrap of 'plast that has "Savage" scrawled on it.

The boy is Force-sensitive enough to give her a headache by the time they're halfway back to Coruscant, a constant babble of baby-noise in the background of her mind. She's never been quite sure what to do with the tiniest of younglings, infants not yet old enough to think in words or to know how to moderate their volume. Savage is enough for her to never want to deal with another in her life, and she's glad to pass him off to the healers and creche Masters to evaluate and take care of.

She's even more glad when there's a wail of confusion echoing in her mind as she flees to the debriefing she needs to give the High Council. What is she supposed to do with an infant, anyway?

Two years later, she's on her own and contemplating what would happen if she blew up the warehouse she's been watching for the last month, after she gets the beings held captive inside out. It would burn so nicely, and she's certain the captives inside would be glad to see the place burn. She doesn't like sitting and waiting to trace the money up the food chain, no matter how necessary it is.

She doesn't expect to have one of the pilots who works for the place to come find her in the dingy cantina she spends half her evenings in, and set a basket on the table.

"Was told to find you, that you'd pay double what the girl did to bring this to you, Jedi." The scarred human smiles sharply when Vinris looks at her in confusion. "If you don't want it, I can space the little brat."

"How much were you paid?" Vinris doesn't care at this point what her mission is - her cover is blown, though by who or how, she doesn't know, and once she deals with this, she's going to go rescue those she can, and destroy the vile place on her way out.

"Six thousand. Republic is good enough." There's a lie in the words, and Vinris smiles enough to show off her teeth. The human woman blinks, and shrugs. "Credits or space it. I don't care."

The High Council is going to have a fit. Vinris reaches out to take the handle of the basket. "You'll have it by the end of the day. And I will take the child now, or you'll have nothing."

Ten hours later, Vinris is arguing with the pilot of the temple transport about extra passengers, the warehouse is blazing merrily, and twelve thousand Republic dacteriis are in the hands of the slaver pilot, courtesy of her dead employers. The High Council is still going to have a fit, but it's not their money Vinris just spent.

The Zabrak boy she'd been blackmailed into purchasing has a familiar feel in the Force, though she's not sure how until she is back on Coruscant, and the creche Masters ask her how she's managed to convince a Dathomiri to give two children to the Temple. Vinris would dearly like to know herself, so she can ask her what insanity possessed the woman to give them to _Vinris_ , of all people.

She goes down to the creche, though she still doesn't like infants, and visits Savage, who is a cheerful little terror who still hasn't learned volume control. He remembers her, and Vinris leaves the creche with as much a headache as she had after she'd found Savage outside her shuttle. She has the similarities between him and his brother in the Force fixed in her mind, though, and thinks if she ever goes to Dathomir again, she should be able to find their mother.

It's another four years before she has time between missions to take on a personal one. She looks at Dathomir as she orbits it in a borrowed shuttle, her skin itching as she takes a deep breath, and inputs the coordinates she needs to land. Memories of her other visit here drift through her mind, and Vinris whispers a fervent hope that Talzin is no longer the one in control of the Night Sisters. It will make this trip far more interesting, and less pleasant if she is.

She's in Blue Desert City when a Night Sister comes to her lodging, a bundle held close to her body and darting glances over her shoulder with every other step. Vinris nearly dives for the window, shaking her head even before the woman speaks.

"I'm terrible with infants, and his oldest brother didn't know how to be quiet." Vinris meets the woman's gaze, feeling the fear from the woman, and not entirely certain what to do. She reaches out to the Force, and nearly reels back from the insistence in it that she take the boy, now. "Why me?"

"If they stayed here, they would die slaves." The woman sets the bundle - another child, another boy who Vinris can already feel is strong in the Force - on the cot Vinris hoped not to sleep another night in. "Helpless, alone, and weak. You will train Maul, and he will never be a slave. None of them will be alone."

"What's your name?" Vinris doesn't like the idea of traveling back to Coruscant with another infant, although at least this time she doesn't have to deal with a young idiot who should not have been allowed out of the Temple alone. "I refuse to leave them without knowledge of the family they've left behind."

The woman watches her for a moment before whispering, "Kycina," and whirling to flee. Escaping into the night, and leaving Vinris to take the boy or see him made into whatever his mother fears.

Looking down at the boy, Vinris sighs. "If she has any other children, she can send them to the Temple directly, Force damnit." She knows, though, if there are more, she’ll find a way to get to Kycina and offer them the same rescue. If she wants them out, Vinris will not leave the woman’s children trapped.

Maul is quieter than his brothers, and Vinris surprises the healers when she stays until they've finished their evaluation. She takes him down to the creche herself, looking in on his brothers. Savage is chasing his clan-mates all over the garden, tackling a human girl who pokes him in the ribs in return, both giggling all the while. The middle boy prefers to hide in the wildest parts of the garden, and all his clan-mates call him Feral for it. He doesn't even seem to remember the name the creche Masters gave him when Vinris brought him in.

"Mama." Feral wraps his arms around her leg once he spots Vinris, and smiles up at her, his emotions bright and uncomplicated. Loud, if not as loud as Savage.

"I'm not your mother, youngling." Vinris reaches down to pry the boy off, crouching down once she has his hands in hers so she can meet his gaze more easily. "Just the person your mother thought would save you."

Feral shrugs, and grins, repeating his statement before he pulls his hands out of hers and bolts into the garden again with a giggle. Happy, both of them, all for Kycina latching onto Vinris as their chance for escape from Dathomir. She wonders for a moment what their life would have been if Vinris hadn't been on the planet six years ago, before shaking her head.

"Your focus determines your reality, Vinris Rish. What might have been is not what is." Vinris draws a breath, shaking her head as she pushes to her feet. She'll make sure they are aware of their heritage when they're older.


	2. Padawan

"Are you going to be my Master?"

Vinris blinks, turning to look over at Savage a moment, wondering what had made the boy ask the question. He'd never called her mama, as Feral still does, even at nine, but he gravitates toward her whenever Vinris lets herself be convinced to teach a class of Initiates. Lingering impressions from his infancy, perhaps, reinforced by her greater presence in the creche since Kycina had left Maul in her care.

"No." She doesn't know if any of the other Knights or Masters have their eyes on Savage, but she is certain she won't be taking the eldest of the brothers as her Padawan. "I don't know who will be your Master, Savage, but even if you go to the corps, you will be a fine Jedi."

The eleven year old sighs, looking over at the other Initiates, who are moving through the kata Vinris has been teaching them. "No one watches me in the competitions. Like I'm not good enough for any of the Masters."

"Maybe your Master is absent from the Temple, and hasn't had a chance to see you." Vinris knows neither of her former Padawans have been back to the Temple in the last two years. Karai, she'd expect to return if he were to become a teacher, but her older student hadn't been nearly as aware of the future as Karai always had been. "You haven't reached the cut-off to be taken as a Padawan, Savage."

"I will soon, though." The young Zabrak's shoulders slump, and she can feel a desperate sort of disappointment from Savage. As if he's already certain of the outcome.

"Trust in the Force. And if not in the Force, than in the stubbornness of one Jedi Master, hmm?" Vinris rests her hand on Savage's shoulder a moment before nudging him to go join his classmates again. "Go. Practice, and have faith."

Savage looks up at her a moment, before grinning again, and jogging back over to the others. Vinris doesn't think he really trusts the Force will bring what he needs, but if trusting in a person helps him keep from falling to bitterness or despair, she'll take that.

She keys in a familiar com-code by heart that evening, waiting patiently for her older Padawan to answer, though it's audio-only.

"You _do_ know it's cold as a Sith hell this early in the morning, Master?" Tvali's voice is a groggy grumble, and Vinris chuckles. "What time is it where you are?"

"I'm at the Temple, and it's a perfectly respectable early evening." Vinris leans back in her chair, combing her fingers through the fur on her head. She needs to cut it again soon. "Are you going to come visit me any time soon?"

"I hadn't been planning to." There's a clatter in the background, suggesting Tvali is making tea. "What are you plotting, Master mine?"

"You should visit, and watch the Initiates." Vinris grins, knowing Tvali will hear it through the com. "There are some that would make an excellent Padawan."

"Hmph." Tvali is quiet for a long moment, the familiar sounds of a kettle being put on to boil, and the pieces for making tea being laid out coming over the com in lieu of words. "Not for at least a month, Master. I have work I can't leave undone here."

"Com me when you get in, then. I'm doing a teaching cycle until the end of the year." And if Savage is snatched up by another Jedi before Tvali comes, there are other Initiates approaching their cut-off dates, and it won't hurt for her first Padawan to look at them.

* * *

"Vinris Rish, you are a sneaky, sneaky woman." Micah Giett sits on the bench next to Vinris, watching the Initiates sparring in the salle with a speculative eye. "How did you get your recalcitrant Padawan to return to Coruscant without dragging her by the ear?"

"I asked." Vinris flashes him a brief smile, the tips of her canines visible until she turns her attention back to one of the Initiates. The Dathomiri boy she'd brought to the Temple eleven years before. "If you want to convince my other Padawan to come home and spar with you, you can ask Karai yourself."

"Neither of them comes back to the Temple even when the _Council_ asks." Micah glances across to where Tvali is sitting on the benches closer to the sparring. She is watching the Initiates more closely than he'd have thought, after nearly four decades of steadfastly refusing to take a Padawan. "You'd think they learned an aversion to Coruscant."

"Not from me, surely, Master Giett." There's an undercurrent of laughter in Vinris's voice, and an innocence Micah doesn't believe for a moment. "I did try to come back to the Temple at least every other year during their training. More often with Karai."

"And he comes home less often than Master Coshal." Micah shakes his head, shrugging his shoulders. "You owe me a sparring session."

"No, I don't." Vinris shifts, leaning forward as she focuses her attention. "You owe me a year of ALT classes that I don't have to teach. You're the Combat Master, not me."

"I have other duties, and you're the only other Master the Learning Council can pin down long enough to take the class on for more than a month." Micah wants to coax Qui-Gon into taking the older students on, but no one can keep him in the Temple longer than it takes for him to shower and pick up new tunics along with a new mission.

"Maybe they're not using the right bait. You might convince Karai if he knows it's not a ploy to convince him to take a Padawan before he's ready."

"I don't know why your Padawans have an aversion to training ones of their own."

"Tvali has spend most of the last four decades in and out of some of the most remote outposts of the Outer Rim, looking outward. She always told me it's a poor life to drag a child on, even one old enough to be a Padawan." Vinris shrugs. "Karai says he'll take a Padawan when he has one tell him to come home."

Micah remembers the loud grumbles the other Jedi had voiced in the creche about the dreams of a temple of light that doesn't match any known Jedi Temple on record. "Is he still trying to find that temple?"

"Only between missions."

Vinris grins, and Micah glances across the room to see Tvali has beckoned Savage over, and is talking to the boy. There's a brief flash of delight a moment later, loud enough to catch the attention of everyone, and Vinris chuckles, pushing to her feet.

"If you will pardon me, Master Giett, I have to congratulate my Padawan on finding one of her own."


	3. Feral

"I want to be a farmer. Or maybe a nerf herder." Feral reaches up to catch the ball Maul throws at him, tossing it back gently. "Savage and you can be Jedi Knights, but not me."

"You should be, though." Maul uses the Force to catch the ball, scowling at it a moment before he tosses it high in the air. "You're good enough to be someone's Padawan, I _know_ you are." He catches the ball again before it can come down on Feral's head, letting it drop gently into his brother's hands.

Feral shrugs. He's never really wanted to be a Knight, even if someone takes him as a Padawan. He just wants to take care of things, and make sure there's someplace for his brothers to come home to. Even if the Temple isn't there. Sometimes it isn't, and it takes a moment when he wakes up to remember he's in the creche, not a tomb.

"You'll be Master Vinris's Padawan, when you're old enough." Feral levitates the ball, rolling it through the air toward Maul. He still prefers to call Vinris mama, even though he knows she's not his mother. Beyond the difference in species, Vinris is known to mostly ignore Initiates until they're old enough to be considered for the ALT classes.

"I know." Maul shrugs, batting the ball back up into the air. "One of us has to be."

Feral catches the ball, and sets it on the ground as he feels someone else coming, looking over toward the gap in the shrubs that surround the clearing. One of Maul's age-mates comes hurtling through, and skids to a stop that only just misses the ball they've been playing with.

"Obi-Wan!" Maul grins, tackling the human boy with the same enthusiasm he usually greets Feral or Savage. "Is Bant feeling better?"

Feral doesn't stay to hear the answer, slipping out of the clearing before Obi-Wan has a chance to really notice him. He shouldn't stay in the garden much longer anyway, or he's going to be late for his next class. Or miss it altogether. Heading for his favorite tree, Feral weighs the risk of washing out entirely against the boredom and discomfort of being trapped in a classroom that makes the dreams more vivid later.

He sighs, reaching up for the first branch to climb into his usual hiding spot. There's a data pad there, and a scribbled note from Aliin that she's downloaded all the extra bits she can find for today's classes. He's going to miss his friend when she becomes a Padawan. Everyone else teases him about not liking to be in the Temple proper unless he's trying to find another garden.

Curling up in the comfortable hollow created by several branches spreading out from the trunk, Feral brings up the work from the stellar navigation class, though the numbers never stay in place. Better to get that one done first, since he'll probably fail it again.

"You can miss the rest of classes, you know, but you have to come down for ALT." Aliin's voice drags him out of a half-trance a few hours later, and Feral looks down between the branches to meet the dark eyes of his only friend. "And then dinner. Because you haven't eaten lunch, have you?"

"I forgot." Feral closes the holo-documentary he's watching to supplement his biology class. It's the only one he really regrets avoiding, though not enough to make himself leave the garden.

"Master Giett promised he would have a treat for us today." Aliin crosses her arms. "You can't miss this one. Even if you still think you won't be a Padawan."

Feral sighs, climbing down once he's set the datapad safely back in the hollow. "I don't want to be a Padawan. I want to grow things." He straightens his tunics when Aliin looks him over, waiting until she nods before he heads for the main entrance to the gardens. He's not as good as Savage with a lightsaber, though he's good enough for the creche Masters to push him into the ALT class. Like they have with his age-mates who are going to be Padawans.

"You can be a Padawan and a Knight and still grow things, at least if your Master isn't a complete idiot." Aliin bumps his shoulder with hers as they walk. "You should see if you can catch Master Jinn's attention, or Master Yoda's. They're supposed to be really strong in the Living Force, like you are."

"I'm not that strong." Feral shakes his head, shivering as they step out of the garden into the colder corridors of the rest of the Temple. "I'm just good with plants and animals."

Aliin rolls her eyes, and reaches out to lace her fingers through his. "You're the best with them. And you're good with a lightsaber, and you're good with history and finding even the things I miss, and you're good with the littler younglings than any of us."

"It takes more than that to be someone's Padawan." Feral is careful not to tighten his hand too much around Aliin's, so he doesn't hurt her. "Which I don't want to be."

"You used to." Aliin squeezes his hand tightly, silent reminder that she's not that breakable. "When we were still really little, you wanted to be a Jedi just like Master Rish."

Feral wants to pull away, and go back to the garden, but Aliin won't let go of his hand. He isn't that good, and he knows it, even if everyone else doesn't.

* * *

Aliin keeps hold of Feral's hand so he doesn't bolt before they get down to the practice salle, though he's practically vibrating with the desire to go back. There are other Jedi in the salle with Master Giett when they arrive, and Aliin doesn't recognize anyone. They're not here to watch, though, or they'd be on the benches to the sides.

Everyone else in the class is there already, and Aliin pulls Feral over to sit next to Quinlan Vos, sitting so she can press a shoulder against his, without crowding him against the younger boy.

"Do you know what Master Giett is planning yet?" Aliin leans in a little so she can whisper to Quinlan, hoping there's at least some clue, even though she and Feral are almost late.

"He hasn't said anything yet." Quinlan is watching the other Jedi intently. "And Master Tholme didn't say anything before we came down here."

"Who are the others?" Feral hunches his shoulders, and Aliin shares a glance with Quinlan, the Kiffar boy moving closer to bracket Feral better. Crowding him, maybe, but he always seems to like that better when he's most worried. "I don't know any of them."

"Neither do I." Aliin reaches down to grab Feral's hand again, seeing Quinlan do the same. At least _someone_ other than her isn't a complete idiot, even if all her and Feral's clan-mates are.

"I think the long-haired tall one is Master Jinn. And the dark human with the Padawan is Master Windu. He's on the High Council. His Padawan is Depa." Quinlan's early apprenticeship comes in handy sometimes, even though Aliin doesn't think it's fair he got to skip the creche entirely. "I don't recognize the woman, though."

Aliin can feel Feral relax a little against her, but he still is trying to hide. Maybe he thinks Master Jinn will notice him and he's scared of being a Padawan, though Aliin still doesn't know why Feral is afraid of that.

Master Giett turns from whatever conversation he's having with the others, and grins at them in a way that Aliin usually sees when he's planning on letting them have open spar melee. Only there are now five more, and she doesn't like the odds of the entire class being tagged out before they can tag out Master Giett or one of his guests.

As he explains what he has planned, Aliin tightens her grip on Feral's hand, excitement making her want to bounce in place. The obstacle course is off limits for Initiates, but this is almost as good. And it will be better for Feral, she thinks.

"I'm sticking with you," Aliin whispers once Master Giett is done outlining the exercise and introducing the other Jedi, and lets them figure out their teams. "Should we ask Master Jinn to be on our team?"

"No." Feral tugs her with him as he gets up, heading directly for the last Jedi introduced. "Master Alu? Would you be on our team?"

Aliin smiles, squeezing his hand as the Twi'lek smiles, and tilts her head to them.

"Certainly, Initiate. May I ask your names?"

"Everyone calls me Feral, and this is Aliin." Feral is watching the woman with something Aliin thinks is scared, a little, maybe, and maybe hopeful too. She bumps his shoulder with hers, than smiles cheerfully at both him and Master Alu. She has a good feeling about this, even if Feral doesn't.


	4. Stubborn and Loyal

"Master Jinn is here." Maul bumps Obi-Wan's shoulder, re-directing his attention from his current glare at Bruk - the boy isn't worth the energy, honorless little snot that he is - to where Master Rish is standing with Master Jinn and another Jedi that Maul doesn't recognize. "I bet we can make a spar look good enough to catch his attention."

"If Bruk doesn't manage to do better with whoever he's sparring with." Obi-Wan lets out a quiet sigh, grimacing. "I know I'm supposed to be a Jedi, but how can I do that when none of the Masters or even the Knights will choose me as their Padawan?"

Maul snorts. "Bruk is an honorless gundark. Master Jinn wouldn't take him as his Padawan." He tilts his chin to point at the three Jedi clustered together again. "Master Rish wouldn't be talking to him if he were the kind of person who doesn't have honor himself, and an honorable Master wouldn't train someone like Bruk."

"I don't think it works like that." Obi-Wan sighs, making a face. "And Master Jinn hasn't taken a new Padawan since we were infants in the creche, anyway."

"Then I wager the Council is probably trying to get him to take a new one even more, and you have an even better chance of catching his attention." Maul grins, showing off his teeth a moment. "Come on. Spar with me, and we'll make sure Master Jinn notices you."

Obi-Wan grins back, whatever momentary doubts he had evaporating as he steps out into the center of the salle with Maul, facing each other once they're in the clear part of the floor and igniting their lightsabers to salute each other. They know each other's styles well after sparring so often in classes, along with their friends, and the match is like dancing.

Bruk is next, after Maul and Obi-Wan clear off to one side, taking the offered water and towels that Siri all but tosses at their heads. Maul doesn't think the boy has any chance, but he watches the match anyway, while Obi-Wan is watching the masters on the far side of the salle. Bruk is good, but Maul knows Obi-Wan is better. Knows they're both better than Bruk, and best when together. He could have shown that off even better if most of their friends hadn't already been chosen as Padawans, him and Obi-Wan sparring against them.

"You look like you'd like to burn holes in Initiate Chun, little one." The voice of Master Rish draws Maul's attention to the Jedi - the third has a Padawan's braid tucked behind her ear, so not a Master looking for a student - who've come over to their side of the salle as Bruk and his opponent finish their match. "Do I dare ask why?"

Maul shrugs, dismissing Bruk readily, at least for the moment. "He's a bullying, honorless slug who calls other people names." Maul doesn't much care of Bruk calls him names - it's just a name, and they're not much different than the name his mother gave him - but when he does it to Obi-Wan and Siri and Bant, Maul wishes he hadn't asked Master Giett not to pair him with Bruk for sparring in class. Even if it was the right thing to do, sometimes he still wants to chase Bruk around the salle with a lightsaber until the other boy is crying for the creche Masters.

That gets a chuckle from the Padawan Maul doesn't recognize, and a small smile from Master Jinn. It would be better if Master Jinn paid attention to Obi-Wan, because Maul is going to be Padawan to Master Rish, when she asks him, and Obi-Wan needs someone to ask him to be their Padawan.

"You did very well out there, Maul." Master Rish tilts her head a moment, studying him. "Are you ready for more of a challenge than you can find here?"

Maul grins a moment, glee rising in him before he tries to stuff it back down like he's supposed to, and makes a proper bow to Master Rish. "I would be honored to be your Padawan, Master Rish." He glances over at Master Jinn a moment, all but vibrating as he waits to hear a similar question asked of Obi-Wan. Anything to show his hopes for the day aren't just shadows in the night. Why else would Master Jinn come over with Master Rish, anyway?

He might be projecting a little much, because Master Jinn smiles and shakes his head. "I'm not looking for a Padawan myself, Padawan Maul."

"Why not?" Maul reaches out without thinking about it, wrapping Obi-Wan's hand in his as he stares up at Master Jinn.

Master Jinn's smile fades, and he looks away from them, maybe trying to avoid the frustrated look Master Rish is giving him. "It's not your concern, Padawan."

"Does no one meet your standards of skill?" Maul tilts his head, narrowing his eyes at Master Jinn. "Or are you scared you won't get along with someone?" He knows he's being rude, and right now, he doesn't care. Even if it does mean that Obi-Wan is looking steadily more embarrassed, and the other Initiates in earshot are staring at him like he's lost his mind. "Why'd you even come here if you're not looking for a Padawan anyway? It's rude to make any of us hope we'll finally be chosen when you're not even bothering to look for someone to teach."

Master Jinn looks down at him, his expression closed off, and almost harsh. Maul stares back, tucking his chin down to protect his throat as he waits stubbornly for a satisfactory answer.

"He has a point." Master Rish shrugs when Master Jinn turns his head to glare at her. "Though he could do with learning to better pick his time and place to ask those sorts of questions."

Maul glances down at the floor a moment before he looks back up, not truly sorry.

"You could just talk to the Initiates waiting for Masters." He rolls his shoulders back when Master Jinn turns his attention back. "That's what Master Yoda says is best when you don't know about a person." Maul grins at the thought of the little green Master, and glances over at Master Rish. His Master. "Should I tell Master Yoda that Master Jinn needs to speak with him, Master?"

Master Rish laughs, while Master Jinn looks pained. "Not at the moment, little one, I think. Go. Take your friends and pack your things. I'll come down to the creche to show you where to take them in a little while."

Obi-Wan tugs at Maul's hand, and Maul lets Obi-Wan pull him from the room, Siri following them out, though at least Bruk has the sense to not do the same.

"What were you thinking, Maul?" Obi-Wan's voice is a little strangled, and Maul looks over at his friend, biting at his lip when he sees how pale Obi-Wan looks. "You can't just talk to one of the Masters like that!"

"Why not?" Maul scowls, shaking his head. "He shouldn't have been there if he wasn't looking for a Padawan. It's not a class, when he might be helping Master Giett teach. It's not even an open spar that's just for practicing. It was supposed to be showing off to the Masters who wanted a Padawan."

"You could have gotten in a lot of trouble doing that." Siri grabs Obi-Wan's other hand, so they're all linked together. "You're lucky you got picked as Padawan by Master Rish."

"It wasn't luck." Maul cranes his neck to look over his shoulder a moment, making sure Master Rish wasn't already following them. "Feral always knew it would be me she trained. He said so."

"Master Alu's Padawan? How did he know?" Siri looks at him around Obi-Wan, and Maul shrugs.

"He just did. It had to be one of us, anyway, and Savage is Master Coshal's Padawan, and Feral thought he'd be AgriCorps. So it had to be me."

"But she didn't have to pick another Padawan. And she could have asked Obi-Wan, you know."

Maul shakes his head. "Feral hasn't been wrong about what he sees about other people. Sometimes he's wrong about himself, but not about other people. And he knew Master Rish would train one of us, and so she had to ask me."

"At least you knew who was going to pick you." Obi-Wan lets out a quiet sigh. "I still don't know, but there has to be someone. I know it."

"And we'll find someone." Maul squeezes Obi-Wan's hand a moment. They have to find someone. They're supposed to be Padawans together, all of them. And then Knights together, maybe train Padawans together themselves. "Somewhere, somehow."

It makes Obi-Wan smile, and that's enough for the moment. But Maul still intends to keep his promise.


End file.
